This invention relates to methods of and apparatus for the storage and retrieval of recording media, such as magnetic tape cassettes, records, laser readable optical storage discs, i.e., the so-called "compact" discs, or video discs. More particularly, the present invention is directed to improved systems for the temporary storage, on a slider member which may be selectively locked in or released from a housing, of so-called "compact cassettes" and "compact discs". A prior art container for use in the storage of compact cassettes is disclosed in published Federal Republic of Germany patent application Ser. No. 22 48 408.
In the apparatus of the above-referenced German application the slider member on which a compact cassette is supported during storage has no side walls. Accordingly, the user of the device of the published German application, with the hand outspread, can grasp the cassette from above by two of its opposed narrow sides and remove the cassette from the slider member for use. The guiding arrangement for the slider member is provided in a space between the floor of the slider member and the underlying housing floor. This arrangement increases the overall height of a storage device comprising a housing and its cooperating slider member and the amount of material needed to fabricate the device, which is particularly disadvantageous in the case of a mass-produced article.
The problem to which the present invention is directed is that of providing a storage system for recording media comprising a housing in which a slider member is mounted, the slider member being moveable between an inserted position and an ejected position under the influence of a biasing spring, and having a front wall which closes the housing openings when the slider member is in the inserted or storage position. A storage system in accordance with the present invention also includes stops for limiting the relative motion between the slider and housing to the desired ejected position of the slider member and, of course, a locking arrangement for retaining the slider member in the housing against the bias of the ejection spring. A storage system in accordance with the invention is also provided with means for guiding the slider member during its motion relative to the housing. Additionally, and most importantly, the present invention is directed to the provision of a storage system which is characterized by reduced overall height when compared to the prior art while the removal of the recording medium from the slider member is nevertheless possible without any particular manual dexterity. This may be contrasted from the manner in which the similar problem is addressed in published Federal Republic of Germany application Ser. No. 25 21 371, for example.